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JAMES GILLULY
fune24, 1896-December29, 1980
BY THOMAS B. NOLAN
AA R O N W A T E R S in a "portrait" published more than ten
years before James Gilluly's death, characterized him as
a "pioneer of modern geological ideas." ~ The independence
of thought implied by this characterization came naturally;
both Gilluly's father's ant! mother's grandparents had immi-
gratect to the United States as rebels against repressive or
unpopular regimes.
Giiluly was born in Seattle, Washington, June 24, 1896,
the son of Charles Elijah Gilluly and Louisa Elizabeth iBrie-
gel] Gilluly. Charles Gilluly's grandfather tract been a disciple
of Robert Emmett and had left County Galway in Ireland in
1793; as Gilluly expressed it, his great-granclfather was "luck-
ier than Robert, who was hanged." Successive moves from
New York State to Michigan and to Kansas led the family to
the State of Washington in about IS90. Louisa Gilluly was
clescended from a German emigre family that escaped from
Wurtemberg as a result of an abortive attempt to set up a
republic in ~ 830. The family settled in East Saint Louis,
where Louisa was taught in German until she went to high
school. Her family moved to the Kittitas Valley in Washington
in ~X90.
' Aaron C. Waters, "Portrait of a Scientist: James Gilluly, Pioneer of Modern Geo-
logical Ideas," Earth Science ReviewslAtlas, 5(1969) :A 1 9-A27.
119
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120
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Much of Gilluly's early life was spent in Seattle, with brief
intervals in British Columbia, when his father was employecl
there, ant! on his mother's family ranch in eastern Washing-
ton. Even early in life he was a voracious reader, and in both
grammar and high school he was fortunate in having excel-
lent teachers who recognized and encouraged his capacities
(he regularly enrolled in courses for extra credits. His high
school career was marked by his selection as valedictorian of
his class; in addition, he was captain of the football team,
editor of the school class book, and chairman of the junior
prom.
.
Gilluly's mother cried during his last year in high school,
and he lived with his father in Calgary, Alberta. The outbreak
of World War ~ brought him back to the States, where he
lived on his uncle's farm until he enterecT the University of
Washington in the fall of 1915. His university career, how-
ever, was interrupted from time to time, partly by the neces-
sity of meeting his living expenses and partly by enlistment
in the Navy when the United States entered the war. During
this period, Gilluly worked in the mines at Butte, Montana,
on surveying parties, in the steelmilIs near Spokane, and as
a stevedore on the Seattle docks, experiences that made him,
in spite of his relatively small stature, an effective end on the
Washington football team. (He also was a member of the bas-
ketball team and manager of the track team.) In addition, he
was active in fraternity affairs, managing the house as well as
. . . . . . ,~
participating In t ne soda . bite.
At the end of the war, Gilluly was acting as instructor of
newly enlisted sailors as a noncommissioned petty officer. He
received a commission as ensign at the cessation of hostilities.
Throughout this unusually busy periocl, Gilluly continued
his voracious reacting in an amazingly wicle range of subjects.
This was in adclition to the course work that marked succes
sive majors in civil and mechanical engineering, business eco
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JAMES GILLULY
121
nomics, and, finally, geology. This last shift was made in his
senior year, at least in part because of the influence of a fra-
ternity brother who later became a distinguished petroleum
executive.
Gilluly's initial venture into geology after graduation from
the University in 192 ~ was, to a degree, an unhappy one and
was followed by an equally unsatisfying experience in insur-
ance. He had, however, taken a civil service examination for
junior geologist while a senior in college, and in the spring
of 1922 he was offered a part-time assignment with the U.S.
Geological Survey in Washington, D.C.
Here he began many lifelong associations and friend-
ships. With M. N. Bramlette and W. W. Rubey, he enrolled in
part-time graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University. The
next year, again with Rubey and Bramlette, he continued
graduate work at Yale University. Here he made further
friendships, both with fellow students (W. H. Bradley, G. G.
Simpson, and others) and with a faculty that included
Adolph Knopf, Charles Schuchert, Chester Longwell, and
H. E. Gregory, each of whom influenced him significantly.
Following completion of his graduate work, he was given
a series of field assignments with the Geological Survey. His
first independent project was to investigate the geology of
part of the North Slope of Alaska an area that was begin-
ning to be of interest for its petroleum potential. It was a
strenuous and trying introduction to Geological Survey field-
work in a harsh and unknown environment. Gilluly, after
arrival at Point Barrow by boat from Seattle, started out with
canoes and two young Eskimo assistants along the Arctic to
map one of the larger rivers flowing northward into the Arc-
tic Ocean. The North Slope of Alaska here is flat and fea-
tureless; with the young Eskimos, who were unfamiliar with
the area, the party entered the Topogoruk River, rather than
the larger Ikpikpuk, which had been the objective of the pro
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122
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
gram. This expedition up the "wrong river" was duly noted
at the next annual performance of the Survey Pick and Ham-
mer Club!
Successive fielcl assignments to eastern Colorado, the San
Rafael Swell in Utah, the Oquirrh Range in Utah, the Acli-
rondacks in New York, the Canal Zone in Panama, the Baker
area in Oregon, and the Ajo and Tombstone districts in Ari-
zona provided Gilluly with a broad background of experi-
ence in widely different geologic terranes that supplemented
his voracious reading.
The field assignments resultecI not only in a series of Sur-
vey reports of high quality but also by-product papers on
particular phases of geology that were significant contribu-
tions to geologic literature. A further broadening of Gilluly's
experience resulted from a Survey-assisted journey to Eu-
rope in 1931, primarily for a period of stuffy with Bruno
Sander in Innsbruck of the new field of petrofabrics. Gilluly
broaclenect the trip to include a tour of eastern Europe, the
first of several trips that greatly increased his familiarity with
global geologic problems.
An offer to join the faculty of the University of California
at Los Angeles at nearly double his Survey salary was fi-
nally accepted by Gilluly, and he moved to Los Angeles in
1940, although he continued his association with the Survey.
The outbreak of World War Il. however, soon interrupter!
his university career, ant! Gilluly resumed full-time Survey
work, initially on projects designed to alleviate the shortage
in the so-called strategic minerals. In the early summer of
1944, when the mineral supply was to a considerable degree
resolvecI, he transferred to the Survey's Military Geology
Unit, a group of specialists set up to assist the Corps of En-
gineers in the planning for the Pacific Campaign. The unit
prepared reports on such matters as water supply, air-strip
locations, appropriate landing beaches, and the like. These
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JAMES GILLULY
123
activities, characterizec! as "terrain intelligence," proved to be
. ...
extremely useful not only to the ( ;orps but to the other
branches of the military as well. Gilluly was first assigned to
work with the military planning group in Australia, anc! later
New Guinea, and was instrumental in the preparations for
the invasion of the Philippines. He lanclect with the troops on
Leyte after his group hack recommended a lancting area that
proved to be far superior to the one originally selected. Sim-
ilarly, a superior lancting field for the airforce planes was pro-
posect on the adjoining islanc] of Samar, rather than one that
had been planner! for Leyte.
With the completion of his activities in the Philippines,
Gilluly returned to the States ant! resumed his teaching at
UCLA in the spring semester of 1945. He was a stimulating
instructor, although a demancling one, and inspired great
loyalty in those students who responclec! to his challenges
many of whom achieved their own share of distinction.
. . .
~,
He became, however, increasingly intolerant of the ma-
chinery of university administration through service on the
myriad committees that play a necessary and important role
in the management of a major university. This dissatisfaction
reached a climax in the McCarthy era, when the University
of California was required to insist on a loyalty oath sworn
annually by the faculty members. Rather than acquiesce in
what he regarded as an intolerable personal ant! professional
insult, Gilluly resigned his professorship and returned to
full-time service with the Geological Survey in 1950.
The perioc! from 1945 until 1950 marked a turning point
in Gilluly's activities, and to some extent in his professional
interests. Prior to his return to UCLA, he had been primarily
a field geologist, and his major publications emphasized the
areal geology of the regions that he stucliecl, though by no
means were more general problems neglected.
Now, however, his teachings required emphasis on the
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
broad aspects of geology. He, together with A. O. Woodford
and Aaron Waters, was persuaded by William Freeman to
prepare a textbook of geology. The authors agreed among
themselves that the book would "concentrate on the analysis
of processes that are at work upon and within the earth,"
rather than present a category of descriptive facts and terms.
Principles of Geology was finally published in 1951. It had
been finely honed through the mutual reviewing and critical
reading of the three authors, and it was accepted by many
universities as "the" ~eolo~v text. It went through several
.. . . .
~A,
editions, the last one prepared by Gilluly alone.
Gilluly's return to the Survey initially permitted him to
resume the geologic fieldwork he so enjoyed, and in which
he excelled. A detailed study of a large and geologically com-
plex area in central Nevada was especially productive. Never-
theless, other responsibilities in the Survey and the National
Research Council took an increasing proportion of his time
and energy.
After a minor heart attack during his service as chairman
of the Division of Earth Sciences of the National Research
Council, and a minor accident during some renewed field-
work in Nevada, he reluctantly gave up rigorous fieldwork
and divided his time between extensive reading, in prepara-
tion for revision of the Principles, and travel over much of the
globe in company with his wife, Enid. In these travels he was
widely accepted as a major figure in geology and was given
great assistance in his visits to areas of geological significance.
Although the last few years of Gilluly's life were marked
by several illnesses and hospitalizations, these did not prevent
the continuation of his quest for new experiences and new
ideas. His last trip, however, was a personal and sentimental
one, to the scene of the ~ 898 Klondike gold rush, particularly
to the vicinity of Chilkoot Pass, where his father had nearly
lost his life at the hands of the infamous "Soapy" Smith gang.
The end came on December 29, l9XO, after a brief illness.
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JAMES GILLULY
125
Gilluly's impact on the whole field of North American ge-
ology through his textbook ant! teaching, his numerous
papers, ant] especially his personality and human relation-
ships has probably been as great as any of his contempo-
raries. He was a familiar and highly regarclec] participant in
all the geological gatherings he attended, and he never tired
of his discussions (in which his beliefs were always vigorously
presented with geologists of all ages and backgrounds.
Gilluly's early papers, which mainly related to the field
assignments he carried out for the Geological Survey, not
only recorded the results of his fieldwork but also, prophet-
ically, concerned topics and generalizations that were later
elaborated into thoughtful and comprehensive papers of
wiclespreac! application. His early assignment to report on
the geology and ore deposits of eastern Oregon, for example,
resulted in the preparation of papers on the "replacement
origin" of the albite granite in the area ant! the water content
of magmas. These papers were followed some years later by
a Memoir of the Geological Society of America, the "Origin of
Granite." Gilluly served as chairman of the group of authors,
as well as a major contributor.
Discussion of the plutonic granite rocks was again a major
theme in the William Smith lecture to the Geological Society
of London. ~ ne lecture encompassed another major interest
initiated by the observations and conclusions reacher! during
his earlier geologic fieldwork in the western United States
concerning the nature and causes of the geologic structures
that he mapped. This interest became a recurrent theme, and
may be seen in the series of later papers concerning the dis-
tribution of mountain builcling in geologic time; volcanism,
tectonism, and plutonism in the western United States; orog-
eny and geochronology; and crustal deformation in the west-
ern United States, among others. A major conclusion that
he reached, and vigorously defendecI, was that orogeny was,
in contrast to the widely accepted theory of "perioclic dias
d~ ~1 rem 1 1
c'
1 ~a' 1 ~
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126
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
trophism," in progress throughout much of geologic time.
The titles in the appended bibliography epitomize the
scope of Gilluly's geologic contributions; they are also a mea-
sure of the influence he exerted on geologic thought, both
here and abroad. The contents of these papers reflect the
tremendous range of Gilluly's reading. Less obviously,
though probably in his opinion more importantly, his conclu-
sions are firmly based on his recognition of the necessity for
a thorough knowledge of the evidence provided by field ob-
servations. Finally, his papers are characterized by an inde-
pendence of thought that was not influenced by popular or
traditional concepts. His extensive reading, his emphasis on
fieldwork, and his independence of thought seem to have
been a natural response to the events that characterized his
life, from his childhood days to his maturity as a recognized
scholar. An important element in his response to these events
was the ideal relationship he enjoyed with his wife, Enid Fra-
zier Gilluly, over their married life of more than fifty years.
i. F. Smith2 has made the following summary of the many
honors that came to Gilluly during his lifetime, which, as he
observes, were many and well deserved:
He was the Faculty Research Lecturer at UCLA in 1948, Bownocker
Lecturer at Ohio State University in 1951, and the 17th William Smith
Lecturer at the Geological Society of London in 1962 (published in 19631.
He received the Penrose Medal, Geological Society of America, in 1958;
the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award of the U.S. Depart-
ment of Interior, in 1959; the Walter Bucher Medal, American Geophys-
ical Union, in 1969; and an honorary Doctorate of Science from Princeton
University in 1959. The University of Washington, his undergraduate Uni-
versity, named him Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus in 1963, a highly pres-
tigious award in that the University bestows it upon only one alumnus each
year. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an Honorary Member of the Geolog
23. Fred Smith, Jr., "Memorial to James Gilluly," Geological Society of America Mem-
oirs (1982).
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JAMES GILLULY
127
ical Society of London. In 1962, he served as Chairman, Division of Earth
Sciences of the National Research Council. Jim also served on the U.S.
National Committee on Geology and the Upper Mantle Committee of the
International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, and was a member of
many professional societies. He became a Fellow of the Geological Society
of America in 1927, was Vice-President in 1947, and was President in 1948.
Smith also has provided a fitting tribute in the memorial
he preparer! for the Geological Society of America:
With the death of James Gilluly on December 29, 1980, at age 84, the
geologic profession lost a powerful and imaginative protagonist whose
contributions to science, and to the development of scientists, spanned well
over half a century. Although Jim qualified as a specialist in many different
disciplines at various stages in his career, and especially as a structural
geologist, he was truly and proudly a general geologist. His enormous
knowledge of scientific literature and his prodigious memory served him
well in dealing productively with an exceptionally broad spectrum of geo-
logic researches. A positive man who was always ready to accept or fling
the gauntlet on subjects from geology to politics, Jim expressed his con-
victions strongly and with a quick wit. He was also a warm human being,
a great believer in the rights of the individual, and a defender of the less
fortunate. His knowledge was catholic, and he could recite an appropriate
poem or a song from Gilbert and Sullivan as readily as he could recall an
obscure scientific reference.
Finally, the citation by the University Orator at the time
of Gilluly's receipt of the honorary degree of Doctor of Sci-
ence from Princeton University is an appraisal that many of
us regard as supremely fitting: "Dean of American field ge-
ologists, inimitable investigator of the inanimate, he is the
spiritual descendant of the classical giant Antaeus, who was
never so strong as when his feet stood on Terra Firma. Rock-
bound coasts hold no terrors for him he analyzes them; he
lifts up his eyes unto the hills and explains their formation;
his brilliant record places him in the forefront of the most
impregnable of professions, for it is founded upon rock."
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128
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
1923
With K. C. Heald. Stratigraphy of the Eldorado oil field, Arkansas,
es determined bydrillcuttings. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull., 736:241-
48.
1925
With Sidney Page and W. T. Foran. A reconnaissance of the Point
Barrow region, Alaska. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull., 772:33.
1927
Analcite diabase and related alkaline syenite from Utah. Am. I.
Sci., 5th ser., 14: 199-211.
1928
With i. B. Reeside, in Sedimentary rocks of the San Rafael Swell
and some adjacent areas in eastern Utah. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof.
Pap., 150:61-110.
With K. F. Mather and R. G. Lusk. Geology and oil and gas pros-
pectsofnortheasternColorado. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull., 796:65-
124.
1929
Geology and oil and gas prospects of part of the San Rafael Swell,
Utah. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull., 806:69-103.
Possible desert-basin integration in Utah. I. Geol., 37:672-82.
1931
Copper deposits near Keating, Oregon. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull.,
830:32.
1932
Geology and ore deposits of the Stockton and Fairfield quadran-
gles, Utah. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap., 173:171 pp.
1933
Replacement origin of the albite granite near Sparta, Oregon. U.S.
Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap., 175:65-81.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
james gilluly
JAMES GILLULY
129
With }. C. Reed and C. F. Park, tr. Some mining districts of eastern
Oregon. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull., 846:140 pp.
With I. P. Connolly and C. P. Ross. Mesothermal gold deposits: Ore
deposits of the western States (Lindgren volume). Am. Inst.
Min. Metall. Eng.:573-77.
1934
Mineral orientation in some rocks of the Shuswap terrane as a clue
to their metamorphism. Am. I. Sci., 5th ser., 28~1651:182-201.
1935
Keratophyres of eastern Oregon and the spilite problem. Am. J.
Sci., 5th ser., 29~171~:225-52; 336-52.
1937
The water content of magmas. Am. i. Sci., 5th ser., 33~1981:430-
41.
Geology and mineral resources of the Baker quadrangle. Oregon.
U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull., 879:119 pp.
1942
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1950
Distribution of mountain building in geologic time; a reply of dis-
cussion by H. Stille. Geol. Rundschau, 38~21:103-7.
1951
With A. C. Waters and A. O. Woodford. Principles of Geology. San
Francisco: W. H. Freeman. 631 pp., illus.
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1954
Further light on the Roberts Thrust, north-central Nevada. Sci-
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1958
With R. }. Roberts, P. E. Hotz, and H. S. Ferguson. Paleozoic rocks
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The tectonic evolution of the western United States 17th William
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JAMES GILLULY
13
1965
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132
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